Thursday, May 04, 2006

Schmidt Back On Track?

One of the brightest spots of this young season came Wednesday when Jason Schmidt looked like an ace for the first time in over a year. Schmidt shut out the Brewers and he did it without walking anybody. Part of the reason why the Giants have been inconsistant over the past season, is that Schmidt has been counted on being an ace and has pitched like a number 4. If Jason Schmidt can return to that 2002-2004 phase, the Giants should start seperating themselves from the rest of the pack in the West. His last two starts are really making me think that he has finally made the adjustment. He doesn't have the 97 mph fastball anymore, but he can still hit 94 pretty consistantly and that changeup is still as nasty as it was 2 years ago. Schmidt's strikeouts are also reflecting in his improved control. He has 16 k's over his last 2 starts, while he had just 17 in his previous 4 starts combined. Noah Lowry is reportedly on his way back and may start a game as early as May 11th and should give the Giants staff as a whole a shot in the arm. Hennessey hasn't been too bad in Lowry's absence but started getting hit a little on thursday in Millwaukee.

Kevin Frandsen has gotten his feet wet in the bigs due to Ray Durham's injury and he has looked right at home. Frandsen will likely be sent back down to Fresno when Durham returns, but the dude looks like he could be the Giants' best fielding prospect since Matt Williams. The Giants' people have compared Frandsen to a young Robbie Thompson. Thompson was one of the most hard-nosed, gritty baseball player I've ever seen and if Frandsen has that quality to go along with that swing of his, he should be something. Don't know if Frandsen will ever be a superstar, but so far he has shown that in time, he could easily be a .300 hitter with some gap power and a solid glove. I hope he makes it a very tough decision for the Giants when Durham comes back.